Today, Thursday, June 28th has been a very tiring day. We started early at Dr. Galleshaw’s. I was going in for a one month check since starting the new treatment with Tykerb. The rash I’m experiencing is consistent with the rash others have experienced, but the pain isn’t. There is marked increase in the size of my liver and breast in just a month. Also, my lymph nodes are now able to be felt. With these rapid changes, Dr. Galleshaw showed great concern. She had hoped that the Tykerb would at least stop the progression of my disease, but that is apparently not happening. In light of the cancers aggressive progression despite a new therapy another change has been made to my treatment schedule and different pain and nausea medications have been prescribed.

Next we headed to Northside Hospital for an echo. I have one every three months to check for damage to my heart from the Herceptin and chemotherapy. A dear family friend Tammy went with us and we visited her friend Toy Carter who has stage three breast cancer and had surgery yesterday. This young mother of two has lost both of her parents to cancer. Please pray for their family and a quick recovery for Toy.

After lunch with my darling husband, sweet Tammy and my dear niece Shira, we all headed down close to the airport where Darren dropped Tammy and me off and we went home while Darren and Shira went to the airport to get her on the non-stop from Atlanta to Anchorage, Alaska. I’m happy and sad to say she got on safe and sound. We will all miss her. I especially got used to the foot massage with lotion each night before bed. Thanks Shira!

Tomorrow, Friday June 29th at 8:00am I will be having a PET/CT to check in detail the progression of the cancer. I have been taken off Tykerb and the Xeloda. Next Thursday, July 5th, I will begin taking a new chemotherapy called Gemzar. They will also restart the Herceptin. Gemzar is a weekly infusion and Herceptin is every three weeks. Since I won’t be taking the Tykerb anymore hopefully the rash will quickly fade. The Doctors took pictures to document this side effect so other cancer patients taking this drug (hopefully with better success than I experienced) will know what to expect.

Please pray that this new drug will have minimal side effects and will work to completely destroy the cancer cells and bring me back to a healthier state over time. I don’t look forward to now weekly trips to the doctor, but at this point they are necessary. Thank you for your love, prayers and continued support.

Until next time…